PLANT CITY – Dr. Milagros Mendoza said that while she has only recently started practicing dentistry in Plant City, she feels that she already can call many of her patients friends.

She opened Plant City Dentistry in January after relocating to Lakeland from Miami, her hometown where she practiced dentistry for four years. She said that Plant City offered the perfect location to provide dental services to the community.

“It wasn’t a mistake,” she said. “There are definitely a lot of people I feel like we can help here.”

She established the dental office at 2313 Thonotosassa Road, in the former Blockbuster movie rental store.

She said she and her staff are trained to perform all procedures of general dentistry, including endodontics, oral surgery, extraction of wisdom teeth, and restoration of implants. They treat adults and children 5 years old and older.

But the dentistry is looking to use their dental services to make an impact on the Plant City community.

“I want to make sure this is a warm environment and patients are happy to come here,” Mendoza said.

They began by hosting an open house April 24 to introduce community members to the office staff and facility. Dr. Lisa Nguyen, who joined Plant City Dentistry in February, said the open house was to give residents a chance to see and tour the office.

“This office has a great atmosphere,” she said. “We want them (residents) to see that we’re a part of this community.”

The open house included snacks and refreshments, drawings for chances to win free dental health tools and services, and an opportunity to meet and greet staff members and tour the facility.

“We want everyone to come in and see that we’re just one big happy family,” said Brenda Tindle, a Plant City Dentistry business assistant. “We tell all our patients that we want this to be their dental home not just their dentist.”

Office hours are Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Nguyen said that one of their goals is to give patients a positive experience.

“It’s really important for us that patients are comfortable,” she said.